


He Just Knows

by crisiskris



Category: Andromeda (TV)
Genre: I'm not gay but, M/M, Rommie is perceptive, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-21
Updated: 2018-02-21
Packaged: 2019-03-22 01:15:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13753167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crisiskris/pseuds/crisiskris
Summary: Dylan reflects on his new crew.





	He Just Knows

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place early in season 1. Written after I'd seen only a few episodes, but can squeeze into canon because it affects basically nothing.

The young man intrigued him, right from the start. The Maru’s crew were impossible to get to know; they were friendly, but evasive; good workers, but cynical and suspicious. The more Dylan learned of what had happened in the 300 years he’d been frozen in time, the more he understood the distance they kept between them and others, outsiders – himself, and the Nietzchean, Tyr.  It impressed him all the more that the four of them were so close, especially since they were so different: a Magog priest, two humans, and a – well, he hadn’t even been able to find out what species Trance was, yet.

But as interesting as the purple woman was, it was the engineer that caught Dylan’s eye. He’d impressed Dylan with his ability to get around Andromeda, both before and after they were working as a team.  Then he’d gone and put his foot in his mouth by asking Harper where he’d studied.

“Studied?” the young man had gaped at him. “Are you kidding?”

Dylan had just looked at him, feeling a helpless misunderstanding that was starting to become too familiar.

“Kludges don’t go to school,” Tyr had interjected with derision.

“But surely you went to school of some sort,” Dylan had sputtered. “I mean, you certainly possess a great deal of mechanical knowledge...”

“Know-how,” Harper had replied, “not knowledge.” Then he’d turned away, attention focused back on whatever part of Dylan’s ship the young man had been tinkering with at the time.

Dylan had backed off, recognizing that he’d touched some kind of nerve. He’d asked Beka about it afterward. “Earth’s a slave planet,” she’d replied, as if that explained everything. At Dylan’s look of utter bewilderment, she’d taken pity on him and offered a few more details. “It’s ruled by one of the biggest Nietzchean prides out there. There’s no government, no health care – no schools. The entire planet is one big refugee camp.”

“Then where’d he learn how to repair ships like that?” Dylan had demanded. He couldn’t help it; his curiosity was peaked.

Beka had shrugged. “He just knows,” she’d said.

Now, only a few weeks later, Dylan watched the young man working, and shook his head _. He just knows, all right_ , he thought. Harper had been at it for hours, repairing systems that usually took a crew of eight an entire shift to maintain, one after the next as if he’d built the ship himself. Andromeda seemed to like him. Even the Nietzchean seemed to be getting along with him. Just as he did with computers, Harper seemed to integrate himself into his social surroundings with ease and subtlety. It was, Dylan supposed, a survival mechanism. It was good that he could, too, because quite frankly the young man wasn’t the strongest looking lad he’d ever come across. Still, there was something about that wiry frame that made him want to look twice...

“Dylan,” a familiar voice sounded, interrupting both his thoughts and his gaze. Andromeda’s hologram had formed directly in his line of vision, blocking his view of Harper’s form.

“What is it, Andromeda?” Dylan asked, sighing, preparing himself for more bad news. The last few weeks had pretty much been about how much worse the world had gotten since he’d last been awake or how out of shape his ship was. 

“I don’t think Harper is an appropriate choice for a sexual partner,” Andromeda replied instead, and Dylan’s mouth dropped open.

“What? Rommie, I, who said – what?”

“Captain, your interest is clear – and given what you’ve been through, ordinarily I would encourage the pursuit of new relationships.  However, in this case I think it would be unwise.”

“I wasn’t thinking about that,” Dylan sputtered. “Rommie, I’m not gay - I was engaged to be married. To a woman.”

“True. But I am well aware of what you and Commander Rhade did when you were alone in your quarters. I see everything, Captain, and you didn’t always engage privacy mode.” Dylan blushed and looked away from the hologram, who continued as though she hadn’t noticed.  “Your sexual identity is of no concern to me – but I don’t think Harper is a good choice, and I feel compelled to inform you of my opinion.”

“Rommie, I have no intention of – he’s a boy, for god’s sake.”

“Harper is approximately 25 years old.”

“What? Approximately?”

“He doesn’t know when he was born.”

“Oh.” Dylan felt a pang of sadness for the young man, for a life without birthdays and without that connection to his own history, which was followed by an even deeper sadness for all the other young men of Earth, for the entire planet, who didn’t know their birth dates either.

“I am concerned that you are going to form an attachment to someone who cannot return your affections,” Andromeda stated matter-of-factly.

Dylan smiled wistfully. _Too late_ , he thought.  But he said, “Don’t worry about me, Rommie.  I’m all grown up; I can handle it.” With that he purposefully looked away, busying himself with something that was not Harper. The second that Rommie disappeared, though, he found his eyes sneaking back to Harper’s profile, gazing at the young man as he worked his way through a complicated, messy set of circuits.  Sure, he could handle it, Dylan thought. But the young man was going to be a heartbreaker; he just knew it.


End file.
